The Sleepy Hollow Incident
by jamesTedrick
Summary: As Marisa Kirisame ceaselessly forces Reimu Hakurei to fix her broken broomstick (a result of their previous battle), she is eventually sent on a task to bring the shrine maiden the legendary head of the Headless Horseman. To do this, she must pay the aforementioned infamous spirit a visit and have a confrontation, either a peaceful one or one that will end in a bloodbath.


_*Touhou Project and its characters is made by ZUN*_

_*Originally published in Wattpad*_

**THE SLEEPY HOLLOW  
**_By Tedrick Hernandez_

"You did _not_ just break my broom!"

Marisa pressed her hands on her waist as she scowled at Reimu over the dining table. The two of them contemplated on having a dinner party at the Hakurei shrine after their recent battle (which was a result of Marisa attempting to steal some funds from the shrine's donation box), and Marisa had been repeating the same thing over and over again without receiving any considerate response from her friend.

Finally, Reimu stared at her coldly, her eyelids almost closed in drowsiness. "Marisa, it was a battle. You should've expected something like tha—"

The grand witch-in-training smashed her fist on the table, making the bowls of soup and mugs of warm water (it was a cold morning) shake. Vexation was obvious in Reimu's eyes as Marisa spoke, "We've been in countless battles before, and you haven't done that _once_! What's up with you?!"

"What's up with me? What's up with _you_?" Reimu dared not to raise her voice, but Marisa knew she was already being fed up. "I've broken your Hakkero last time, and you didn't complain a single bit."

"Rinnosuke can fix that any time!" Marisa clenched her fists. Reimu took a sip from her mug. "My broomstick was, like, a _brother_ to me! One of a kind, you hear me?"

Reimu twirled the thick lines of her dark brown hair that cascaded from her enormous red bow. "Have your broomstick fixed, then. Magic is infinite, right? Oh wait, it isn't. My bad."

Marisa tried her best to contain her anger and frustration, but she may not be able to keep it at bay for too long. She turned around. "If you're not going to fix my broomstick, then _fine_. I'm going to make another one myself." She walked over to the door and looked at the morning sky. A pool of blue sliced through the slowly dissolving sheet of orange as the morning progressed through the day. "Consider me as an enemy, just like last time." She didn't really mean it, and she wasn't sure if she _could_ mean it, but she still said so.

Just as when she was about to trudge down the shrine's wooden steps, Reimu called out from behind. "Wait! I can fix your broom. There's just one condition."

Marisa turned around, looking at Reimu's satisfied eyes. A sly smile formed in Reimu's lips. "Ever heard of the Legend of the Sleepy Hollow?"

"Marisa, I have no idea what made you want to do that," Rinnosuke spoke as he wiped the dust off his antique merchandise, "but you are _indeed_ heading towards your certain death."

Marisa sipped from the cup of tea that Rinnosuke had given her. "Thanks for the words of encouragement. You are indeed a great mentor."

Rinnosuke wore the same loose masculine robes he wears almost every day. He made his way over to the wall near Marisa and slumped his back on it. Pushing his precarious glasses up his nose, he said, "You are speaking of the Sleepy Hollow Specter, an infamous spirit that is the center of various macabre tails here in Gensokyo."

"Um, yeah." Marisa replied. She cleared her throat as she imitated Reimu's voice. "'Bring me the Headless Horseman's head, and I'll fix your stupid broomstick.' That is what she said."

"Reimu becomes too cruel sometimes." Rinnosuke sighed. "But we both know that the girl is extremely determined about her decisions. Never have she doubted the paths she had made. Kirisame, I'm afraid you'll really have to bring her the Specter's head."

"Stop stating the obvious and go straight to the point, nerd."

Rinnosuke's glasses seemed to shine as he lowered his gaze. "You are going to do something impossible."

"Sweet, then." Marisa smiled. "I'm all about doing the impossible."

Rinnosuke walked over to the chair at the opposite side of the table and sat down, facing Marisa. He laid his arms in front of her and clasped his hands together. "Specters are _not_ the same as yokai, mind you. They are direct beings from the ethereal plane. How are you going to confront something—or someone—like that?"

Marisa shrugged. "I'll find a way."

"Anyway, I'll tell you everything I know." Rinnosuke pressed his back flat on his chair's backrest. "The Specter only appears at midnight—but it won't just show up at random. It'll be conjured once it senses that you are afraid. Your thoughts will lead to its summoning."

"So," Marisa lolled her head in boredom, "I just have to think of scary thoughts in the middle of the night to wherever this bastard resides, and then he'll show up. Wait, is the Specter a _he_ or a _she_?"

"The Headless Horse_man_." Rinnosuke condescendingly said.

"Oh, right. Anyway, where is the Sleepy Hollow?"

Rinnosuke shrugged, and Marisa heaved a sigh. "I'm not sure, but try the woods near the Scarlet mansion. Looks pretty ghostly to me, no?"

Marisa had set her mind up. She spent the entire day reciting spells that were created to invoke spirits. She shifted uncomfortably around her shack in the Forest of Magic, occasionally fumbling with her trusty Hakkero whenever her mind strays off from concentration. Sometimes, she would try to find her broomstick so she could fly off to the trees and pick off some apples—before she comes to the repetitive realization that it was still broken.

Speaking of lunch, she had dropped by the Hakurei shrine for her food (which she always does), but Reimu wasn't there. A note that was left on the table informed her that the miko was busy on a current yokai incident. Instead of having a proper meal for lunch, she had to struggle climbing a tree just to pick off some apples.

Soon enough, the bright sky turned dark as evening inched closer, and that was when Marisa finally decided to set off for the Scarlet mansion. She wasn't used to transporting via the conventional means of walking, but she had no choice.

"Damn you, Reimu." she muttered under her breath as she hoisted her leather pack behind her. It contained all of the supplements she _thought_ she needed: a bunch of magic mushrooms, a multi-layered wrap that contained water, and an apple she called the _Bad Apple_ for fun's sake. "You will pay for this. Just wait for me."

Not wanting to waste any more time, she faced the forest and started walking.

After walking for what seemed like hours, Marisa felt like she would die out of breathlessness.

Several minutes in, her pack felt like it was suddenly three times heavier. Midway, when perspiration started dropping from her pale face, she realized she forgot to bring a hanky, to which she slapped herself for such a ludicrous mistake. An epoch in her whole trip also included a rather sharp branch piercing her beloved pack, spilling its contents. A large amount of her magic mushrooms fell and exploded into puffs of smoke that made her nauseous, and the apple rolled away from reach, gathering dirt on its course. Marisa eventually decided to abandon her pack and carried the essentials: the water pack, and two mushrooms (which she stuffed in her pockets along with her Hakkero).

She only decided to take a rest after reaching the known cliff that overlooked a panoramic view of a small part of Gensokyo's entirety. This part included the glorious Scarlet mansion that stood valiantly, a luminous red aura shielding it from God-knows-what. The fact that it just suddenly appeared back at the Scarlet Mist Incident almost seemed far-fetched now that such an incident dated back ages ago.

After taking the aforementioned rest, she went down the slope, continued unto the thinner strip of trees, and finally reached the bridge that led to the mansion's main gates. Surprisingly, it was left ajar. She pushed her way through it and knocked at the grandeur doors, to which Meiling opened for her.

"Good evening, Chinese Girl." Marisa mockingly greeted, and Meiling smiled back. "I'm here to meet my best, best friend. I have a favor for her. You don't have to inform Remilia about it. Girl's probably busy anyway."

"Okay!"

She entered the grand foyer and went directly to the library, where the head librarian, Patchouli Knowledge, locked herself. "The Locked Girl," Marisa snickered as she pushed the doors to the library open.

Marisa was immediately greeted with untidy stacks of leather-bound books that reeked of ancient smell. She maneuvered her way through the semi-maze of manuscripts and found the only open source of light—the magical lamp that was perched on top of a specific desk table. Sitting on its seat was Patchouli Knowledge.

"Hey, Patchy!" Marisa called out. No response. She spoke as she walked, "I have a favor. I hope you do it for me. We are super friends anyway."

Eventually, she stood beside Patchouli herself. The witch's eyes rapidly darted from left to right as she read the text of the manuscript she was holding at an inhuman speed. Marisa drummed her fingers on the desk table in the hopes of stealing her attention. "So, um, can you hear me out? Please?"

Patchouli didn't move a single bit. Marisa sighed and lowered her head so that her face just three inches away from the librarian's. Patchouli's cool body warmth tinged her skin, making her feel more oddly comfortable. She directly whispered in her hear, "Please, Patchy?"

With that, Patchouli's eyes widened, dropped the book, and shot to a standing position, walking a couple of steps away from her, her hands raised high as if that was going to prevent Marisa from coming closer. "D-Don't do that next time, Kirisame! Don't make me uncomfortable."

Marisa smiled. "That's what you get for ignoring me, sweet-cheeks."

Patchouli's eyes lowered, her expression tightening. "What did you came here for?"

Marisa walked over to Patchouli's seat and sat on it, placing her leg on top of her knee. She stared at Patchouli with the highest of confidence. "I came here with the hopes of you doing a favor for me. I just need it to get my broomstick back."

Patchouli raised her eyebrows. "You are right. Where _is_ your broomstick?"

Marisa closed her eyes and slowly ran her hand up her blond hair, trying to suppress her frustration. "Ah, it's nothing. Just Reimu's work. Typical miko bullcrap. Anyway, I need your help to get it back. I need you to _scare_ me."

Patchouli tilted her head to her side. "You're not thinking of searching for the Hollow Specter, right?"

Marisa squinted. "How did you know?"

Patchouli grabbed the manuscript she was reading moments ago and slid it back to the nearest bookshelf, wiping her hands from the dust that flew after doing so. She turned around and focused on Marisa. "Because that's the only logical thing I can think of when I hear about people wanting to be scared. You do understand, right?"

"Um, yes." Marisa's expression lighted up. "You seem eager to help me. Yay?"

"Not yay." Patchouli retorted, and Marisa feigned a sad expression. "Doing that is practically suicide. You know that, right? Are you all about the impossible?"

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you have the ability to read minds, because you seem to have so."

Patchouli let out a faint laugh which Marisa easily found cute. "My comprehension just stands out more. Anyway, I will try to scare you. Have you heard of the Teke-Teke urban legend?"

"You are so dead to me once I come back, Reimu." Marisa said one more time.

Patchouli had informed her about a gamut of terrifying Japanese Urban Legends that scared her more than anything in the world. If she was to be asked by a being she could not see through the bathroom door if she would want to take the blue cape or the red cape, she'd probably pee out (which was okay, considering the fact that she was in the restroom anyway). If she was to be followed by a giant skeleton on her night stroll home, making undesirable noises here and there, she'd probably faint. The list stretched on.

After their conversation, she had been halted by Remilia Scarlet. She was offered dinner by the vampire who seemed to be more gleeful than usual. At first, she wanted to decline—she had no interest in knowing what vampires have for dinner—but it turns out that, despite their scary personas, they _do_ serve great meals.

Now, she had her back pressed on the trunk of a tree in the middle of the forest that was located right beside the Scarlet mansion. Her only source of illumination was the lunar light from the moon that sliced through the openings of the canopy of leaves above her, and it was definitely inadequate.

Her Hakkero was clutched firmly on her right hand. If the Specter—whatever it looked like—suddenly shows up and attempts to slice her to bits, she would simply raise it and proceed to the chanting of her invoking spells. It seriously didn't seem to be a hard job—unless the Headless Horseman was classified as an entirely different being that absorbs spells, to which Marisa will probably make it to the afterlife shortly afterwards.

She slowly went through the urban legends that Patchouli had informed her of, and even though she seriously wanted to stop doing so and creep back into her shack to get some good night's sleep, she couldn't, for that was the right thing to do in order to summon her target—or was she the target? Her mind was starting to grow tired and tired as she waited.

"Oh, man!" she vociferated, shifting uncomfortably. "Is it midnight already?"

She kept on thinking over the Cow Head tale, how people would die of fright after hearing the contents of its story. Marisa was veritably curious about it. Nothing can scare her to death—which was probably the most ridiculous thought she had ever thought of that day, since she was already being scared as she stayed in the forest.

A low cacophony of insect noises buzzed around the woods, constantly drumming in her ears. It was a cold, chilling night, so she her perspiration had eventually dried up. She seriously wanted to doze off.

Until she heard the weak sound of galloping from afar.

And the galloping didn't sound normal. It resonated everywhere, and it was muffled—as if it was coming from underwater.

"Oh boy," Marisa smiled. Her eyes darted across her environment, probing everything in sight, hoping to see even the smallest of a hint that something bizarre was going on. Aside from the abrupt galloping, she saw, heard, or felt none.

The sound of the mysterious galloping was heard once more, and this time, it came directly from behind.

Marisa spun around and immediately felt the immense gust of wind that blew right at her face. She instantly knew what was happening as her instincts kicked in. She jumped out of the way as a silver object zoomed through the air and burrowed on the trunk of the tree that Marisa was leaning on a couple of seconds beforehand.

"Whoa!" Marisa said as she almost lost her balance. She raised her Hakkero at chest level and started aiming. The mirror in the middle of the octagonal weapon glowed vibrantly as Marisa readied a spell in her mind. She aimed frantically, changing from here and there in a matter of milliseconds. Her heart was thumping faster than before.

There was a sudden movement of silver behind her, and as she spun around, she immediately ducked. If she didn't, her head would've been cut off, and it would've been the end of her pitiful life.

The legendary Horseman had finally arrived, and the first thing it did was to swing its sword as it breezed through Marisa. After ducking, she immediately spun around and aimed her Hakkero, but the Specter was blazingly fast. It rounded around a corner of trees and headed back at her direction in a single second. Marisa didn't even have the time to think.

"Whoa!" she shouted. She willed her mind to come up with a simple flame spell, but the Specter rushed towards her again, and this time, she wasn't as swift and lucky. She jumped out of the way, but the thin sword that the Horseman was equipped with grazed her arm. A stinging sensation welled up, and a long line of scarlet formed in her skin.

The ghostly laughter of the Specter erupted in every corner of every tree as it celebrated its miniature triumph. Marisa panicked—she had never received a slash wound before (most of her injuries came from danmaku energy)—but she knew doing so won't benefit her. Even though it was extremely hard due to the intense situation she was in, she concentrated. The Hakkero nearly vibrated as she calmed herself.

The Horseman came in again, its long blade stretched out and angled in a way that will perfectly decapitate poor Marisa. Everything happened so fast that talking suddenly seemed unnecessary. She knew one delaying mistake will mean the end of her life.

With a blast, she was nearly thrown backwards. A ball of pure, sizzling flame shot out from the mirror of her Hakkero and projected itself towards the incoming Horseman. From afar, Marisa finally had the chance to inspect the spirit more closely. He was a tall, slender man that was wrapped in fine English clothing. He had no head—as his name suggested anyway. He was carrying something that looked like a ball.

As the fireball neared him, the Headless Horseman threw the ball he was carrying—Marisa realized it was his head—and it collided with her fireball. Both of them blasted into sparks, and the spirit's horse galloped through the smoke and into safety. He had sacrificed his only head for such a minor attack.

"I guess you're not particularly smart, huh?" Marisa mocked and taunted, though she said it in between breathes. She wasn't used to combat by feet. She was seriously missing her broomstick every passing second.

Then at the heat of battle, she suddenly went into a realization of how miserable her day had become. While she was busy battling an annoying spectral foe that was quick in impossible rates, Reimu Hakurei was busy indulging in her shrine. She was probably currently eating a midnight snack—a soup concocted out of the best ingredients to provide her with both warmth and satisfaction. While Marisa was busy risking her life just to get one of the most cherished tools she has, the Hakurei miko was probably curled up in blankets, snoring her night away.

And that was probably the stupidest thing she had ever done that day (topping out the previous one). Since she was too busy thinking about things, the Headless Horseman had approached her and proceeded to strangle her on the neck.

Something inside her arms felt like they retracted, and the Hakkero fell helplessly on the ground, the glow on the center mirror gradually fading. The Headless Horseman's grips seemed like metal as his fingers gripped Marisa's throat mercilessly. She gasped for air, but she found it extremely difficult. Slowly, she felt herself being lifted up from the ground.

Black spots danced around the sides of her vision, and her throat felt like it was scorched to the highest level of dryness. She felt helpless. The world seemed to spin around her as she began to rapidly lose consciousness. From what she can make out of her vision, the Headless Horseman's glowing body shone through her eyes, burning her retinas. The spirit slowly raised his long, thin blade, ready to slice her head off.

At that point, Marisa came to yet another stupid thought. What was going to be the reason of her death? Was she going to die because she ran out of air, or was she going to die because she was decapitated? Perhaps both?

But she got that out of the way. She knew she couldn't die, not at that moment. She had survived through countless incidents, and she was _definitely_ not going to allow herself to get killed at such a minor scenario compared to her previous ones. Shoved her hands in her pockets, she pulled out her magic mushrooms and dumped them on the Horseman's face. There were several explosions of sizzling gas in the air, and the very smell of it made Marisa dizzy.

Despite all that, it worked. The Headless Horseman's grips loosened, and Marisa pried her way out of it. She dropped on the ground, and the first thing she did was to gasp for air. She mildly massaged her throat (that felt it was being stabbed multiple times) before moving out of the way, scooping her Hakkero in her path.

Then she wasted no time. While the Specter was too busy wriggling as the gas the mushrooms left burned it, Marisa pointed the Hakkero at the slender ghost and, holding the weapon with both hands, shouted, "_Master Spark_!"

Multi-colored lights erupted from the mirror, and a wide ray of pure energy exploded from the Hakkero, aimed straight at the Headless Horseman. A painful wail resonated through the night, signifying the Headless Horseman's defeat. The beam of Marisa's Master Spark incinerated the spirit into oblivion, and by the time the beam dissolved, the Headless Horseman was no more, including the horse he rode astride in.

Marisa was more than glad that the entire battle was over, and she was even thankful that it didn't last longer. Otherwise, she would probably be found dead the next day by the Scarlet mansion settlers. She leaned on the nearest tree and heavily breathed in some air. The slash mark she had on her right arm was still present, but Reimu could take care of that.

Then it hit her like a Master Spark beam. She pressed her palm on her face. "Oh, gods, the freaking _head_!"

_Bring me the Headless Horseman's head, and I'll fix your stupid broomstick_, Reimu's words echoed in her head over and over, haunting her. The Headless Horseman sacrificed its head so that it won't be blasted by Marisa's spell. Were all of her efforts in vain? Was her enduring on the Headless Horseman's slash for nothing?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she muttered to herself over and over, punching the tree with her curled-up fists. She wasn't sure if spirits return over night, and the answer was probably "no." She wasn't going to get her broomstick back. Once she returns and tell Reimu everything that had happened, she'll probably laugh it off and give her yet another task to complete just to get her broomstick fixed.

Thankfully, she got an idea. If she couldn't present the spirit's head, she could at least present something that will confirm that the entire confrontation was true. Heading back to the tree that she started with, she examined the silver object that was flung to her.

"The hell is this?" Without hesitating, she pulled the object out of the tree bark and perused it. It was a U-shaped horse shoe—probably from the Headless Horseman's equine friend. It was strikingly silver, reflecting the moonlight at tremendous amounts (compared to the usual metal horse shoe). She tried putting a dent on it, but the thing remained flawless. "Perfect—totally spectral."

And with that, she started heading back to her shack, ready to show her special prize tomorrow to Reimu.

"From what I can remember," Reimu condescendingly said, munching on her rice cake, "I asked for the Headless Horseman's _head_, not the bastard's horse shoe."

"You didn't see what happened!" Marisa frantically followed, not willing to be given yet another task again. She refused to eat the rice cake Reimu had offered to her. "When I shot a danmaku energy ball at him, he threw his head and sacrificed it so that he won't get hit. I had no chance but to walk away without his head."

"You could've prevented that from happening if you were more careful." Reimu's eyes were determined—terrifyingly determined. "Plus, how am I going to confirm that this is from his horse anyway?"

"Try scratching it—you'll end up with disappointing results." Marisa forced a confident smile. "Plus, it reflects light in an uneven way. Oh, and not to forget," she unrolled the sleeve of her favorite monotone witch dress, revealing the long cut that the Headless Horseman had inflicted on her. She already patched it with white cloth. "I had a long cut because of his sword."

"You could've just enchanted a regular horse shoe," Reimu was obviously bored. She stared at her plain finger nails. "And you could've slashed yourself because you realized you were too scared to even confront the _real_ Headless Horsema—"

"Shut up!" Marisa let out. "You have no idea how much trouble I went through. Without my freaking broomstick, everything was, like, five thousand times harder! I almost got my head sliced off because of my, well, clumsiness. You don't want me to die, right? Give me my freaking broomstick back!"

Reimu shrugged. She stood up and adjusted the big red bow that kept her hair in place. "You can leave now. I hid your fixed broomstick under your bed ever since yesterday. If only you scoured your little shack properly, you could've cancelled the entire trip to the 'Sleepy Hallow.'"

Marisa just stared at her silent, her mouth agape in awe.

"Oh, and the Headless Horseman apparition?" Reimu couldn't hide her malicious smile anymore. "That was a creation of mine. Set out a triggering paper charm on the forest that generates an angry artificial ghost. I knew you were going to ask Rinnosuke for advice about it, so I told him what to say beforehand."

Marisa still sat there, silent and motionless. She wasn't sure if she could process what she was hearing.

"So you willingly entered that entire battle with the artificial ghost." Reimu smiled. She walked over to the exit and faced the skies. "So your injury is a result of your own will. I don't want to hear your complaint about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have another incident to solve."

Reimu began to walk down the steps before calling out for the last time, "Hey Marisa, want to come with me?"

"No." Marisa refused—something she never imagined that she'd do one day. "I think—I think I will stay for now."

Reimu snickered and left. Marisa sat there, blankly staring at the rice cake that she thought of abandoning. Reimu had made a mess out of her yet again, and she was certainly not going to allow it to happen again.

"Just wait, Reimu." She smiled as she stood up from her seat. "_I_ will be the one that will make you my play thing next time."

Finally contemplating on accepting Reimu's preparation, Marisa munched on her rice cake as she made her way back to her home in the Forest of Magic.

**FIN**


End file.
